Arcade Owners to Appeal Denial of Relocation Permit : Video Arcade Owners to Appeal Denial of Permit to Relocate

The owners of a West Los Angeles video arcade will appeal the city Planning Department’s denial of their plans to move two blocks east on Pico Boulevard.

Gary Gullette and Mike McClelland, owners of the Captain Video arcade center at 10860 Pico Blvd., will seek reversal of the department’s denial of a conditional-use permit at a meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 11 at City Hall.

The owners want to move to 10670-72 Pico Blvd. because the owner of their current site, at the southwest corner of Pico and Westside boulevards, is planning to build a 165,000-square-foot commercial complex there.

Residents, however, told the commission that the proposed arcade location is inappropriate for their neighborhood and would encourage loitering, delinquency and drug dealing.

The owners denied that the arcade would attract delinquents and said that they employ a security guard to patrol in front of the arcade. They also said that a parking lot next to the proposed site would serve as a buffer between the arcade and the neighborhood.

In denying the permit on Dec. 12, the Planning Department said the proposed location is “not proper in relation to the adjoining uses and the development of the community” because it would contribute to parking problems and is next to an alley where young adults might gather late in the evening.